Van Fixes.... You'll Never Guess The Cost

[@Q3Wdoncarlos]

Wipe down with isopropyl alcohol before applying the silicone; once it's flashed off it'll bond wonderfully. Check back soon for more top tips!

[@WanderbusAdventures]

Good tip. Have been advised to use this to remove adhesives and gunk too, so may invest in some. Thanks for the tip.

[@timstradling7764]

For silicon, go in with a positive attitude and you get a better finish. Don’t put in too much to see start with, you can always add a bit more. Don’t go too slow or heavy.😊

[@WanderbusAdventures]

Good tips, I maintain it’s some sort of dark art 😊

[@janlayzell2995]

Hi Rich, you could put a coat of mat yacht varnish on the windowsill. Also we think you spent £2167 on your repairs.

[@WanderbusAdventures]

Thanks Jan. That’s not a bad idea. Thanks for the guess too. Not bad. Will reveal soon.

[@natebaird]

Thanks for sharing your experience on the maintenance front. I'm getting ready to set out with my old 609D T2 from LA to Vancouver and been creating a list of all the filters and parts I'll need to order from the UK to keep her running great! Learned from a friend recently that my front brakes are discs and the rear are drums. Hope you all feel better soon if you're not already!

[@WanderbusAdventures]

Ah no problem Nate. Yeah that’s a good idea to carry some spares. Let us know If you’ve trouble sourcing anything.

[@natebaird]

@@WanderbusAdventures Will do, thanks ya'll!

[@ian_morg]

I’ll go for a £1200 bill 😬😬 I also hate doing silicone. Top tip, clean the old stuff off, dry the area with a hair dryer, cut your nozzle slightly smaller so you don’t use too much and have too big a bead then use a wet wipe over your finger to smooth it out. You can then dispose each one without any mess.

[@WanderbusAdventures]

Oh it’s the worst job isn’t it?! That’s a good tip. It’s something to master. Guess logged.

[@ian_morg]

@@WanderbusAdventures nozzle not middle lol

[@WanderbusAdventures]

@ian_morg Roger. Will keep my middle normal size 😂

[@katrinagray7733]

Glad you went with the oil . Looks so much better than plastic . Were the repairs 2.600.00 😭 .. Wanderbus will soon be good to go. So glad you're both feeling better xxx

[@WanderbusAdventures]

Yeah we prefer the look. It is a bit wiffy for a while though. Thanks so much, it wasn’t nice at all but on the mend now x

[@Stu28732]

I would say 2,130.20p and that’s just going on my past experience. I do feel for you guys…trust you had excellent Easter Break. Take care be safe. x

[@WanderbusAdventures]

Thanks Stu. Easter was nice and chill due to the illness. But fighting fit now. Hope you had a good one mate. Take care and have a great week x

[@easytigeroverland4697]

£3.5 k is my guess, but I'd be interested to know what you budgeted?, all the best Mark and Chesca

[@WanderbusAdventures]

We’d budgeted a lot less but based on thinking it was just going to be the front brakes. It came back double what we’d maximum budgeted for. Was a bit of a shocker.

[@donbrown8001]

I’m surprised you didn’t do the work yourself - my guess is £4998.99 !!😮

[@WanderbusAdventures]

Ooosh that’s the highest so far. Yeah in the future this might be something we’d try, but it’s just so much work and so vital for safety. On this occasion we left it to the pros.

[@kevingalloway9338]

The van is looking good. Hope your all well. 3560.75….is my guess

[@WanderbusAdventures]

Thanks mate. Got your guess logged.

[@montygti16v11]

Loving the bus I reckons the bill was 2950

[@WanderbusAdventures]

Thanks Monty 🚐🚐🚐

[@mavisgetsabout]

Hope youre both feeling better after covid.. Garage bills are horrible arent they?! I wont guess on the cost, I'd be cheating, having had inside info😉 I think Dave was secretly pleased that you dont like silicone, he hates it too😅 As for the wood, I'd have chosen to not use the plastic too😊

[@WanderbusAdventures]

Ah thanks Emily. We are feeling much better now thank you. OMG silicone is kryptonite! Glad I’m not the only one to struggle with this. Hope you’re doing well and the UK weather isn’t too much of a shocker now you’re back

[@mavisgetsabout]

@WanderbusAdventures it's been ok. Dave's been busy fixing the damage! We are looking forward to seeing you in a few weeks😊

[@WanderbusAdventures]

@@mavisgetsabout us too ❤️

[@AlpineSportsIreland]

I did brakes and steering on 709d €2200 plus vat plus labour

[@WanderbusAdventures]

The parts costs have shot up incredibly haven’t they?!

[@AlpineSportsIreland]

@@WanderbusAdventures That's is you can get them. I had just started my bus works and my mechanic used a truck supply place, not the cheapest but we had some credit which helped. Next big job in fitting seats and getting front fan blower working again for cab. need to find part numbers

[@WanderbusAdventures]

@@AlpineSportsIreland ah ours is broken too. Intermittently. But then again so are all the knobs. So am looking out for a whole unit to use. Keep us posted.

[@AlpineSportsIreland]

@@WanderbusAdventures Mine used to work too, was intermittent also, no zero. My am currently fixing in seating supports, then floor back in, still soooo much to do, its daunting at the best of times

[@mentalneil]

Rich/Kelly how can I go about getting hold of some of your stickers, so I can put them on my caravan door

[@WanderbusAdventures]

Hey Neil. Hope you’re good. So a few ways but there’s a few stickers. 1. Make a guess on the costs of our MOT job. Closest one wins. 2. We have some shiny premium ones available in our shop here buymeacoffee.com/Wanderbus 3. We often bring some normal ones to shows. And love to meet people there

[@skinniestfatman5641]

I think we're looking close to 3 grand, our vehicles aren't cheap, we just spent £2500 on our Opel and she still isn't right and is back at the garage where we were told that the head gasket is shagged and there's a pressure problem with the radiator so probably another couple of grand there

[@WanderbusAdventures]

Oh gosh, sorry to hear that. It’s frustrating when you’ve spent that much money only for more work to be needed. Hope you get it sorted mate. Guess marked at 3k.

[@skinniestfatman5641]

@@WanderbusAdventures yeah same here as its our long distance car (can pretty much drive from Prague to Plymouth on 1 tank of fuel if i dont drive like a loony on the autobahn lol)

[@WanderbusAdventures]

Wow. That’d be two tanks for us. And we have two tanks 😆

[@tomcat7525]

Most reputable garages slip a plastic bin liner type bag over the driver's seat for the greasy mechanic, for the £ they charge that the least they should do. Maybe they ran out of bags so they should have cleaned it, maybe tell them that is what you expect if you ever use their services again?. It wasnt the Dodgy Brothers garage was it?

[@WanderbusAdventures]

That makes sense and would work well, the seat was caked in rusty oily mess. Still it was better than last time when oil had been ground into the hab floor. Haha, no not dodgy brothers - they do good work, just messy buggers it seems.

[@holdenman8850]

Question is Rich, did you use Genuine Merc parts or OEM?

[@WanderbusAdventures]

Great question. The calipers were rebuilt/swapped out - the rest supplied by the garage via Mercedes.

[@donnysweekendvanlifetravel7854]

Great to see you both as for the vibration what a lot off garages do to cover them selves is replace the lot it might have been just a bearing a caliper most likely just discs and pads still glad it's sorted and new brakes all round will give peace off mind for the future all the best donny

[@WanderbusAdventures]

@@donnysweekendvanlifetravel7854 that’s true, it’s got to be safe and fingers crossed it’s the last huge bill for a while.

[@MACK13]

£3200 😮😊😊

[@easytigeroverland4697]

3.5k. Interested to know what you budgeted folks?

[@eugenegardiner9895]

2400

[@WanderbusAdventures]

Thanks for your guess. Will update soon.

[@davidgray4012]

£750.00 @ bodget and scarper

[@WanderbusAdventures]

This was our hope when we thought it was reserved to being brakes on the front.

[@neiljemmerson8826]

Im going to go around 3250

[@WanderbusAdventures]

Thanks for your guess.

[@jaysmalls1789]

brakes £1.450 +vat

[@WanderbusAdventures]

Thanks Jay.

[@MartinKennedy636]

Cost that lot two grand

[@WanderbusAdventures]

Got your guess logged, will reveal all in due course.

[@annwild8035]

£1800 plus vat

[@WanderbusAdventures]

Will include the VAT, thanks for the guess.

[@fergusmoloney]

£2950.

[@WanderbusAdventures]

Quite a spread of guesses now, thanks Fergus. Will keep you posted.

[@Dannyscuriousquests]

i recon 1900 but i hope it was less...

[@WanderbusAdventures]

Thanks mate.

[@charlielittlejohn9572]

around £4000🤑

[@WanderbusAdventures]

Oooh. We need to reveal the amount on this. Thanks for your guess Charlie.

[@charlielittlejohn9572]

@@WanderbusAdventures maybe I shouldn't have bought a Clayton power unit for my Vario and did the brakes instead 🤣

[@WanderbusAdventures]

@charlielittlejohn9572 Oooh nice. That’s a tidy bit of kit.

[@jamesslittle]

Ummm, £3350?

[@WanderbusAdventures]

Cheers James, will reveal in due course.

[@adamhenderson5088]

£1500??

[@WanderbusAdventures]

Will update you soon Adam, thanks for the guess.